Sami Moubayed is a Syrian political analyst and historian specialized in pre-1963 Syria . He studied at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and obtained his PhD in Middle East Studies from the University of Exeter . He is the author of numerous books including "Damascus Between Democracy and Dictatorship (Maryland 2000)," and "Steel & Silk: Men and Women Who Shaped Syria 1900-2000" (Cune Press, 2005). His doctoral dissertation on former Syrian President Shukri al-Quwatli was published in Lebanon in 2005. Moubayed's articles on the Middle East have appeared in a variety of newspapers and he regularly writes for Asia Times Online and Gulf News. He is the creator of Syrianhistory.com , the first online museum of Syrian history, and currently teaches at the International Relations Department at al-Kalamoun University in Syria .